Mary Toft and Her Rabbits 1726 – The need for caution about strange claims has always existed

Mary Toft was a young English woman with an unusual passion and an ordinary life that changed forever when she gave birth to something nonhuman. From that moment on, she was thrust into a world she had never imagined existed: a dark, unfamiliar medical subculture flourishing in the king’s courts. As she forced her contemporaries to question their most basic beliefs, events spiraled out of control and she became a pawn in the hands of the powerful. Some of Toft’s doctors were convinced that the animal births were real. Years later, clergymen were still debating what had actually happened, and even today we do not have all the answers.

In 1726, it emerged that Mary Toft had given birth to numerous rabbit parts (including a rabbit’s head) and parts of other animals. Leading doctors of the time examined her and concluded that the births were real, creating a national sensation. Later, when Toft confessed (under pressure) that she had secretly concealed the animal parts, the careers of several famous but gullible surgeons were ruined.

Toft’s story is important in medical history because it reinforces the need for caution when presented with strange theories and possible frauds. The story also offers a glimpse of the outdated theory of maternal impressions, in which a pregnant woman’s emotions and cravings were thought to physically alter her embryo. For example, the London obstetrician John Maubray told pregnant women not to play with “dogs, squirrels and monkeys” because this could cause their children to be born resembling these creatures. Toft’s story also touched on fundamental anxieties about having deformed children, being deceived and becoming helpless pawns in the hands of reckless doctors.

Her story revealed the chilling gullibility of the "wonderful" people we trust. Many educated people were convinced by Toft’s claims because distinguished figures such as Nathaniel St. André, surgeon to the royal family of George I, believed her after witnessing the rabbit births.

Description of the article image: Credulity, Superstition and Fanaticism (1762) by the English artist William Hogarth (1697–1764). Mary Toft is on the floor, giving birth to rabbits that jump beneath her dress. Beside her is the Boy of Bilston, vomiting nails as part of a hoax to convince people that he was bewitched.

Historical figures mentioned in the article: Nathaniel St. André (1680–1776), John Maubray (1700–1732), Mary Toft (1701–1763)

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